


The Adventures of Zinnia Ingraham

by catindminor



Category: New World Magischola (Live-Action Roleplaying Game)
Genre: Gen, Magic, NWM9, Nagual, Transformation, Wizard School, new world magischola - Freeform, tomb raiding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-01
Updated: 2018-07-18
Packaged: 2019-05-31 22:42:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15129332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catindminor/pseuds/catindminor
Summary: A batch of stories about Zinnia Ingraham's adventures in tomb raiding and magic.





	1. The Family Gift

 Note: Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story! Everything in here is based off NWM run 9. (Though there might randomly be mention of something from NWM1 and NWM5.) I do not own this world, just having fun writing in it :)

 

Zinnia Ingraham was terrified. A moment ago everything was normal. She was sneaking around the kitchen looking for a snack while her parents were distracted by a client. This was a ‘high stakes’ job, as her father would put it. Therefore, Lakyn was obviously with them. Perfect timing to steal some cookies. And whatever these were, they smelt _amazing._ Zinnia’s eyes went wide as the smell drifted to her from across the large kitchen. A big, toothy grin grew on her face as she took a few steps toward her goal. There was something a bit off though. With each step she took, Zinnia seemed to be getting further away. ‘I bet Lakyn hexed them again,’ the young girl thought.

A few steps closer, and the cookies continued to grow out of reach. “I don’t know how to break hexs yet,” Zinnia grumbled. Way up on the counter, the cookies continued to taunt her, their scent reaching down and wrapping around her in a hug. That’s it. She’d climb. She reached out one furred arm and…

One furred arm.

Zinnia stopped and looked down at her strange looking hand. Well, paw really. She still had five fingers but they were black and furred, with gray fur going up her arm. She looked down and saw gray fluff covering the rest of her body. This wasn’t a hex her sister could have pulled off. So she panicked.

A shrill cry came bursting from her mouth as she tore across the floor, flopping foreword as her back legs outran her front. Zinnia tumbled, managed to gain her footing, then took off. Though the kitchen, into the sitting room, and then finally diving under a couch cushion was when she came to a rest. She felt her chest heaving and heart pitter pattering against her ribs. ‘What’s going on?’ Zinnia thought, her mind racing, trying to come up with an explanation. She didn’t know of any hex that would transform a person so completely like this. Into… whatever she was. What was she? She popped her head out from behind the couch cushion to look out at the sitting area. No mirrors here. Reaching up, she grabbed her face and felt along to her nose. She had a snout, that’s for sure. When she reached back, she felt a tail also.

Tentatively, Zinnia pulled herself away from her protective lair, pulling most of the seat cushion with her, and inched her way to the back of the room. The artifactorium has mirrors. Wide eyes scanned the halls as the small creature made her way down the hallway to a closed door. Darn. Taking a deep breath, Zinnia jumped, grabbed the door handle and twisted before she fell down with a soft thud. She scurried inside, and came face to face with a large bronze trophy. Looking back at her, she saw a raccoon. A small raccoon cub to be exact. She reached out and touched the trophy in awe, watching as her reflection did the same.

She was a raccoon? She was a raccoon.

Zinnia thought back to the bedtime stories her parents used to tell her of great uncle Henry the gray wolf, great, great, great granddad Hugh the wolverine, and great, great, great, great, great grandma Eliza the bobcat. She remembered the stories of the treasures they found and their ridiculous adventures aided by their animal forms. The Ingrahams have always had a long history of being Nagualli, until recently. Neither Zinnias grandparents nor parents have had the gift. Neither did Lakyn. But she did.

And she was a stupid raccoon.

Zinnia continued to stare at herself in the trophy, watching as her nose twitched, her whiskers spread, and how her tail tapped behind her. Twitching back, her ear picked up the sound of a door opening and voices murmuring. The meeting! It must be over! In a flurry of motion, Zinnia jumped up into the trophy cup in an attempt to hide, but only managed to get halfway in and knock it down with a metallic clunk. Not safe. She bolted from the scene, running for a tapestry hanging on the wall. Small hands desperately tried to hang, but her claws weren’t long enough yet. The raccoon managed to hang on for a moment, but her lack of balance sent her and the tapestry falling down in a mass of red, blue and silver.

“What in the _world_ was that?” The shrill cry of Mary Ingraham rang in Zinnia’s ears. Not good. Trying to untangle herself from the fabric was futile, as the squeak of the door opening was heard clear as day. “Zinnia Eliza Ella Ingraham!” Her name lashed out like a knife. Zinnia didn’t dare move. Each step forward her mother took sounded like an explosion through the floor. She heard the dragging of the trophy she knocked over. “Crap, it’s dented.” Her mother muttered.

That was enough to get Zinnia peak her head out of the mass of fabric. Her great grandads dueling trophy was dented? Really, really not good. She let out an involuntary squeak which brought her mother’s eyes to lock on to her own.

“Edgar!” Mary screamed. “Get in here, one of those filthy…” She trailed off as she watched the small raccoon cub struggle to get out of the tapestry. “Zinnia.” The animal paused and ears perked up. “EDGAR!” Mary screamed again, this time with much more enthusiasm. She rushed forward, grabbing her transformed daughter and cradling her close. “Aww, its ok Zinny.”

Zinnia began to hiss and spit and protest when she heard the loud stomping of her dad, and a trailing of what could only be her sister. No. This was terrible. This was embarrassing. She didn’t want anyone else to see this! She tucked her tail close to her and laid her ears back against her head. Doing her best to be unseen, she snuggled herself up as close to her mom as possible.

“Mary what’s wrong?” Zinnia’s father’s voice came booming though the artifactorium. Peeking up, she could see his wand was drawn, but he clearly didn’t know what the trouble was. Sure enough, Lakyn was looking excitedly behind him

Mary Ingraham grinned widely. “It’s ok. I thought a raccoon got in the house.”

“Mom what are you holding?” Lakyn asked impatiently.

Her hiding spot began to peel away as Zinnia’s mom adjusted her grip to hold out the raccoon cub.

“It’s a baby raccoon!” Lakyn said excitedly. “Can I keep it?”

“No give it to me, I’ll get rid…” Mary Ingraham quickly cut off her husband.

“It’s Zinnia.” Her voice rang out across the room.

“What?” Edgar Ingraham said flatly.

“Zinnia. She has the gift.” She held out her daughter, who was flailing and waving her arms wildly, trying to get out of the grip and hide.

As if on cue, or by sheer panic, Zinnia felt her mother loosing grip on her. Her senses dulled, vision grew less sharp. “Oh shit,” she could hear her mother say. She felt herself fall, but she braced herself with her growing legs and arms. She couldn’t stand, so she sat on the ground until the transformation finished. She felt drained. Her skin was clammy and paler then it should be, and her eyes had black circles around them. Zinnia’s mom leaned down and gave her daughter a hug. “It’s ok, you’re ok sweetie.”

Edgar Ingraham made an audible yip as he jumped foreword and picked his daughter up. “Let’s get you to bed, and we will get a healer in to make sure you are ok. Then,” he continued triumphantly, “you can get whatever you want for dinner.”

Zinnia just smiled. Whatever she wanted for dinner? She was too tired to think, but a big steak sounded fantastic right now. She didn’t notice as her parents filed out of the room with her, they left Lakyn standing alone, watching her family leave with an alarmed look on her face.

 

\---

 

It had been four days since Zinnia had what she was calling the ‘Raccoon Incident.’ It hadn’t happened since. Zinnia knew it was there, however. She felt the connection. It was mostly something she was trying to put out of her mind, until her father came and woke her up way too early. “It’s summer,” she whined, “Not even the Gillygaloo are out yet.”

“No, but you have a lot of work to do.” Her dad’s voice wasn’t the normal half joking tone. It was serious.

Zinnia sat up and locked eyes with her dad. “You are the future of Ingraham Antiques,” he said. “We are sending you on your first expedition in two months. Not get up, we have a curse breaking tutor for you here, and we have a Nagualli teacher on the way. Get dressed, breakfast is waiting, then meet me and your mother in the library.” With a flick of his robes, her father exited the room, leaving a wide eyed Zinnia staring after him.


	2. Rite of Passage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zinnia goes off on her first tomb raiding expedition, however she refuses to use her newfound gift.

Note: Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story! Everything in here is based off NWM run 9. (Though there might randomly be mention of something from NWM1 and NWM5.) I do not own this world, just having fun writing in it :)

 

Stone and jungle tangled together as Zinnia came gasping up ruined steps. Her hair and clothes were wet and her face could not get a shade redder. The air was oppressive, filled with water and bugs. Zinnia hated it. In the back of her mind, a small voice was telling her it would be easier if she changed. It wasn’t going to happen though. She’d show her parents that this would be easy without the gift, then Lakyn can have her job back.

The past two months leading up to this moment had been the most rigorous Zinnia had experienced in her short life. She had asked her mother at one point if she could explain what the sun looked like. Mommy Ingraham wasn’t very happy with that one. There was so much information to absorb; identifying old curses, ways around them, ways to break them, and change them. There was the crash course on ancient mundane and magic history, In fact, that book was waiting for her back in the hotel. Homework didn’t stop even while she worked.

One thing Zinnia still wasn’t sure about was her nagual tutor; a wizard from Baja who just went by Jupiter. They were a roadrunner, which made sense to Zinnia once she saw their long nose and wispy hair. The Professor only made one comment about her animal form, and that was that they had not seen a raccoon nagual before. Zinnia figured it was because the form was trash.

Zinnia spent a week in the forests of Destiny learning how to embrace her inner Procyon. She hated eating bugs and sleeping on uncomfortable branches. Learning to climb was a pain in the ass, but learning to act natural was the worst. It was humiliating. An unsoiled mage running around in the dirt like a…

Eventually, Jupiter managed to get through to her. By the end she was practicing raccoon acrobatics though the treetops. It was more fun then she let on. Once she arrived home, she again refused to transform on her parents command. Though, she was guilty of having some fun exploring New York City when everyone was sleeping

Now wasn’t the time for fun however. It was work time, weather she wanted to or not. Zinnia reached into her satchel and pulled out a bronze disc. The disc had smaller discs inside of it that swirled around the center circle. The entire object was covered in runes. “Let’s see if this works,” Zinnia said to herself. This had been her fathers, and her great uncles, and her great, great grandmas, and, well, it went a long way back in the Ingraham family line. And now it was hers. Using it was simple. First you had to be an Ingraham, or else you would have a bad time. Next hold it up and stare though the center hole like a telescope while turning the dials. The device would scan for anything that seemed out of place magically. Then the user can center in on the disturbance and use the runes to identify the curse. It was genius. And now it was hers.

The ruined crypt stood before the young mage like an open maw. She could only see blackness in front of her. She could - no, she was going to do this normally. She reached into her pack and pulled out a light wand. With a flick of her wrist, a soft blue glow emitted from the wands shaft. Now she could for a few feet at least. “This is it,” Zinnia said softly to herself. “Time to prove myself.”

Her father had told her that every Ingraham treasure hunter went through a rite of passage. Her mission was to research and find an artifact of value, hopefully something that could help her in the years to come. Eventually she zeroed in on something called Hitam’s Compass. It was said the compass can lead one to whatever they were looking for. Sounded useful, too useful. Her father approved, and now here she was in Malaysia. It all seemed like a huge mistake.

With her light wand dangling from her belt, and runic disc in hand, she stepped into the dark. Zinnia held the disc up, scanning the first room for anything out of the ordinary. But there was nothing. The lack of anything set her on edge, causing her body to tense.

The ruin looked like it was at least two stories tall at one point, but the entire thing had collapsed except for the very back of the structure. This, of course, is where the stairs that lead down into the crypts once stood. Now it was just a hole. Taking a deep breath, Zinnia pushed herself down, landing on the cold dirt floor with a thud. Ok, in the crypt. Now to find the compass.

Zinnia walked slowly, keeping track of each place she put her foot while scanning the tight corridor. Nothing, nothing, still nothing. No curses, no hexes, no trip wires. The path moved at a slow incline down into the earth. It went for ages. There was too much time alone for Zinnia. She thought about the musty stone walls surrounding her, the bugs that must be crawling around, the bites covering her arms and legs, and what was she even doing here?

For the first twelve years of her life, Zinnia shadowed her parents running the foreword facing aspects of their business. She learned how to make and close deals, balance books, and look presentable for clients. To have all of that change overnight, and to suddenly be trekking though dirt and grime was a bit of a shock. Her sister was always more of the rough and tumble one.

Walls continued to close in around her as Zinnia progressed down the tunnel. She found herself inching crablike down the corridor, with every few feet checking for traps. Still nothing. Zinnia was surprised at the absence of silence down in the ruins. The trickling of water and soft call of insects filled her ears. She could also hear a soft tapping every once in a while. The tapping bothered her, it didn’t seem natural like the other sounds.

Finally the tight tunnel began to open up, giving the young girl room to walk normally. “What was that spell dad taught me,” she muttered to herself. She thought for a moment, tapping her foot impatiently. “Ah, _Altumis Longis._ ” Zinnia waved her wand upwards, and for a moment she could see the numbers 654. “I’m over 600 meters underground?” she gasped.

Holding up her light stick, Zinnia examined the small chamber she emptied in to. There were paintings on the walls depicting sailors and strange looking landscapes. Straight ahead were two passageways. Zinnia held up her runic disc. She didn’t even need to spin the dial when she received a reading from the passage on the left. Runes lit up on the device. “I bet that’s where the compass is,” she said plainly. Why would it be in an area with no protection? Sticking to her gut, she stepped toward the left most room. As she drew nearer, the runes began to glow brighter. She began carefully turning the dials, slowly spinning them until the runes that were shining all lined up. “Exilium!” she said forcefully. There was a bright flash in front of her then the glowing runes died down.

“Oh, I hope that worked.” Zinnia took a nervous step, then another, and on the third she was confident enough to keep walking. A few more steps, and Zinnia’s foot pressed down on top a small stone circle. “What was-“ _Twing! Twing! Twingtwing!_

Arrows shot out of the side of the wall, making their way toward Zinnia. She was so preoccupied with magical traps, she completely forgot to heed her father’s warning about mundane ones. “Not good!” She cried as she dove foreword, barely missing an arrow as it whirred past her hip. “Pàgakwàn!” She cried out, creating a barrier in front of her that bounced the arrows back. It was a high level spell, and it took a lot of energy to keep it going for the full onslaught. When the arrows stopped, she dropped the spell and leaned against the wall panting.

_Tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap._ The weird tapping was closer. She _had_ to keep going. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Zinnia wiped the sweat from her brow and continued to trudge down the passage. That sound kept preoccupying Zinnias thoughts. She didn’t know what kind of cryptids lived in the area, but her mind was doing a fine job inventing new ones.

Ahead was a large opening. It was so… _creaaaak_. The top of her head pressed into something that shifted as she moved. Before she could react, spears began shooting down on top of her. Too tired to cast the protection barrier again, she ran. “Ahh!” A spear found its way across the side of her arm, taking a chunk of flesh with it. Zinnia knew this was how she was going to die.

There was one desperate thing she could try. She launched herself foreword, her body beginning to shrink as she moved. Fur sprouted from her body, and her ears migrated to the top of her head. A tail grew out behind her and began to floof with black and gray fur. She’d be much harder to hit as a raccoon cub. Especially a raccoon cub that could cling to a wall. As she hung from the rock wall and shimmied sideways as the spears flew. Disappointment flowed over her. This is what she wanted to not do, and yet here she was. Now she couldn’t tell her father “I told you so!” In the choice between raccoon or death, Zinnia now knew which she’d pick.

Eventually the spears stopped flying, and she quickly changed back to her human form. The amount of spears littering the ground would have been comical if they didn’t almost kill her a moment ago. She continued foreword, this time keeping her eyes peeled for any other traps. Zinnia was shaking by the time she arrived at the opening.

But she did it. She DID it! In front of her was a small stone slab with an inscription she couldn’t read, and on top of that was a shining silver compass. After quadruple checking for traps, Zinnia walked foreword and snatched the artifact from the top of the stone slab. She held it against her chest, breathing hard and smiling. She probably looked half wild at that moment, with her frizzing hair and dirt and blood covered clothes.

Zinnia didn’t expect to feel this rush when she found her target. But here she was, holding history in her hands. She began to unlock the compass, but stopped herself. She didn’t yet know how to check something this complicated over for curses. Her father made her promise not to use it until he could make sure it’s safe. And after the last few traps, she was fine to keep it that way. Zinnia was beginning to understand the thrill, maybe treasure hunting wouldn’t be so bad after all.

While Zinnia glowed in her success, a figure entered the chamber from another doorway. (Zinnia didn’t even notice the second entrance!) “Who are you?” Zinnia almost screamed as the sound reached her ears. She jumped around, eyes wide, and found herself a few feet away from another mage. It was a boy and it looked like he was around her age. They both stood there, wands out and facing each other. She was too tired to fight, nor did she want to duel this stranger. Zinnia transformed quicker then she had ever done before. The boys shock was enough time for her to stuff the compass in her mouth and dart off down the corridor she entered from.

Over mounds of spears and arrows she ran, then easily slipped though the tight corridor. The running behind her grew further away, and eventually stopped all together as she climbed her way out of the ruins. Zinnia headed toward the first tree she saw, climbing it with ease. She bounced from branch to branch, putting as much distance between her and the boy. Good luck to him trying to find her in the jungle.

The way back to civilization was boring, though Zinnia continued to look over her shoulder the entire way. No sign of that kid, whoever he was. Who _was_ he? It was the first thing she was going to ask her father when she got back. Except, when she arrived, she found her dad arguing with another person.

“You are nothing but a waste of space, Way.” Zinnia was surprised at the venom in her father’s voice. He had raised his voice in the past, but nothing with this much fury. She saw his eyes dart over to her. “Have the compass Zinnia?” She nodded. “Like I said, there is no way your mixed blood son would out do my daughter.” He grinned wickedly at the other man. “Come Zinnia, let’s get that arm patched up.”

Zinnia looked up at the person her father was arguing with. He was red in the face, but managed to keep his voice calm. “We will see Ingraham. You got there first this time, next time,” he shrugged, turned and walked away, completely ignoring the dirt and blood covered girl.

Hugh Ingraham quickly led his daughter away, and once out of sight used a quick healing spell to patch up her wound for the time being. Zinnia could barely feel the stinging at that point, “What was that dad?” She asked curiously.

“That,” her father said with a snarl, “is someone you should pay no heed to.”

“Does he have a son?” she asked, “Someone got into the ruin just as I was leaving. He couldn’t catch me though.”

Her father sincerely smiled at her. “That’s my little nagual.” Zinnia winced at that. “I know he has a child, I guess that was his son.” He looked into his daughter’s eyes, “You have my permission to do whatever is necessary if he gets in your way.” He pat her on the head. “Now go get some rest, we travel back home tomorrow and you should give your arm a break.” With a kiss on the forehead, Hugh Ingraham was gone.

Tomb raiding was getting complicated. There was a small feeling of excitement bubbling up in Zinnia’s chest as she lie in bed. Even as she tried to fight it, she couldn’t help but wonder where she would explore next, what she would find, and how she was going to be the best at it. She couldn’t let whoever that kid was be better, after all.


End file.
